Jefferson T. Hennessy, Jr.

Jefferson T. Hennessy, Jr.

September 14, 1956 to August 21, 2016

Jefferson Hennessy died at the age of 59 in Broussard, Louisiana, on August 21, 2016. He was the oldest child of
Jeff and Ruth Hennessy of Lafayette and, later, of Broussard. His friends called him gentle. He was. And he was humble. He didn’t like attention, but he was an immensely gifted and creative poet and writer, just as he was an immensely talented athlete in his early years. In fact, he was one of the nation’s finest trampolinists before
switching to motocross and gaining a reputation as a top state competitor.

One of Jeff’s proudest achievements was as a contributing writer for Acadiana Profile magazine in Lafayette.
Among his articles were several about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, including one entitled
“The Cajun Navy” that has become the definitive account of the rescue effort initiated in Lafayette and which popularized the phrase “Cajun Navy.” Five of his articles appear in the book The Terrible Storms of 2005.

Jeff’s love of music, especially 1960s rock and roll, was evident from his large and devoted following on
Facebook. His many friends eagerly awaited the next installment of his musical chronicles, which often
evoked spirited discussions.

At the time of his death, Jeff was completing the manuscript for a book, which will be published later in 2016,
about the rescue efforts at the Cajundome in Lafayette in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

After graduating from Lafayette High School in 1974, Jeff attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana
(now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985, and he was
a teaching assistant while working on his Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing. He was part of a
history-making moment at USL in 1985 when he and his sisters Leigh and Kay all received their degrees
at the same time.

Since an early age, Jeff’s two driving passions were writing and music. He traveled the nation in pursuit
of interesting projects, with memorable stops in Washington, D.C., where he worked as a legal researcher
and for the Folger Shakespeare theater; Austin, Texas, where he found the music scene stimulating; and
Las Vegas, which inspired him to move back to Louisiana to pursue a career in writing.

In addition to his creative and magazine writing, in recent years Jeff worked as a technical writer in the
oil business, most notably for Frank’s Casing Crew in Lafayette and Halliburton in Houston.

Jeff is survived by his mother, Ruth Hennessy of Broussard, Louisiana, his sister Leigh Hennessy Robson
and her husband Dr. Mark Robson of Lafayette, Louisiana, and his sister Kay Hennessy of Phoenix, Arizona.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 27, at David Funeral Home, 316 Youngsville Highway,
Lafayette, LA 70508. Doors will be open at 1 pm for visiting and services at 2 pm.